Mythology Characters/Story Review:
Perseus:
Description
1. King Acrisius
received message from oracle that he would die by
the hand of his grandson
2. Denae
King Acrisius’ daughter whom he locks in a tower
3. Perseus
King Acrisius’ grandson; slays Medusa and
accidentally kills King Acrisius
4. King Polydectes
Fell in love with Denae; challenged Perseus to kill
Medusa
5. Hermes
messenger god; gives Perseus his sword
6. Athene
goddess of wisdom, arts and crafts; gives Perseus her shield
7. Zeus
Perseus’ father
8. Medusa
snake haired Gorgon sister that Perseus slays
Orpheus:
1. Orpheus
Description:
minstrel who makes his way to the underworld and bargains
with Hades and Persephone to bring Eurydice back from the
underworld.
2. Eurydice
bitten by poisonous snake and sent to underworld
3. The Muses
minor goddesses responsible for different arts and sciences
4. Persephone
goddess of the underworld and of seasons; convinces Hades
to make a deal with Orpheus to let Eurydice go
5. Hades
cries when he hears Orpheus’s sad song; king of underworld
6. The River Styx
river flowing around Hades; Charon uses it to ferry the dead
7. Charon
a god in the underworld who brings the dead to Hades
8. Cerberus
three headed dog guarding the gates of Hades
9. Sisyphus
caught stealing and sent to the underworld; sentenced to
roll a rock up hill forever; every time the rock reached the top,
it would fall down and he’d have to start over again
10. Tantalus
stole Zeus’ golden dog and punished by being placed chindeep in a pool of receding water and given a burning thirst.
Every time he’d reach for the water, it would recede, and
he
couldn’t quench his thirst.
11. Ixion
first murderer; punished by being tied to a wheel which
turned around and around forever.
Arachne:
Description:
1. Arachne
mortal who challenged Athene to a weaving contest
2. Athene
goddess of arts, crafts and wisdom who turns Arachne
into a spider after Arachne insults her
Prometheus:
Description
1. Prometheus
gave man the gift of fire against Zeus’ wishes
2. Zeus
punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock so
vultures could eat at his liver which kept growing back
3. Hercules
saved Prometheus from his punishment
Pandora
1. Pandora
Description
first mortal woman created by Zeus to punish man for accepting
fire
2. Zeus
King of the gods; punishes man for accepting fire
3. hope
the one thing trapped in Pandora’s box after she opens it; with
this people can still hope things will get better.
Phaeton:
1. Phaeton
Description:
Helio’s/Apollos’ son; wants to drive sun chariot across sky
2. Helios
sun god; reluctantly agrees to let Phaeton drive the chariot
across the sky
4. oath on the river Styx
promise of the gods that can’t be broken or else you are
sent to the underworld
“Solid Gold Princess”/Midas:
Description:
1. Midas
greedy king who asks Apollo for a golden touch;when he
abuses his touch, he is given donkey ears by Apollo
2. Apollo
grants Midas the golden touch
3. Midas’ daughter
(the princess)
turned to gold by father’s golden touch
4. Midas’ barber
tells the whole town that Midas has donkey ears; Midas is
going to kill him but changes his mind at the last minute.
Daedalus and Icarus:
1. Daedalus
Description:
imprisoned on Island; built labyrinth to trap the Minotaur;
builds wings from feathers and wax to escape island with son,
Icarus
2. Icarus
doesn’t head fathers warning; flies to close to sun, wings melt,
and he plunges to his death
3. King Minos
hired Daedalus to build the labyrinth; traps Daedalus and Icarus
on the island
4. The Minotaur
creature that is half man/half bull; threatened the people of
Crete; placed at the center of the Labyrinth
5. Labyrinth
wandering maze made of hedges that Daedalus was forced to
make for King Minos; where the Minotaur lived.
Persephone
1. Zeus
Description:
lord of the earth and sky; ruled them with his thunderbolts
2. Poseidon
king of the seas; made floods and gales
3. Hades
ruler of the underworld; envious of his brothers in the world
above; kidnaps Persephone, takes her to the underworld and
makes her his wife
4. Persephone
Demeter’s daughter; kidnapped by Hades and braught to the
underworld; eats seeds from the pomegranate before she leaves
the underworld
5. Demeter
goddess of all living things; makes things grow; Persephone’s
mother; felt sorrow and then rage when Helios tells her that
Hades kidnapped Persephone; in
anger, Demeter refuses to allow plants/crops to grow.
6. Helios
god who drives sun across the sky; tells Demeter that
Persephone has been taken to the underworld by Hades
7. Hermes
messenger to the gods; persuades Hades to let Persephone leave
the underworld so that Demeter will let things grow
in the outer world.
8. pomegranate
only fruit/food that Persephone ate in the underworld; because
she ate 7 seeds, she wouldhave to stay half of each year in the
underworld.
9. the seasons
Winter and fall are the result of the 6 months Persephone is in
the underworld; the leaves fall and plants hide
Spring and summer are the result of the 6 months Persephone is
allowed to return to earth; flowers bloom
Odysseus & the Cyclops (Ulysses)
Description:
1. Ulysses
accidentally traveled into the Cyclops' cave with his sailors;
they were looking for food
2. Polyphemus(Cyclops)
man-eating, one - eyed giant/Cyclops; blinded by Ulysses when
Ulysses and men are trying to escape
Miscellaneous:
Description:
1. Mars/Ares
god of war
2. Athena/ Minerva
goddess of arts and crafts and wisdom
3. Aphrodite/Venus
goddess of love and beauty
4. Hermes/Mercury
messenger to the gods
5. Apollo/ Apollo
god of sun, medicine and music
6. Hades/ Pluto
god of the underworld
7. Persephone/ Prosperina
goddess of the underworld; responsible for seasons
8. Zeus/ Jupiter/ Jove Ruler; king of the gods
9. Hera/Juno
queen of the gods; goddess of marriage and childbirth
10. Demeter/Ceres
goddess of agriculture and the fields
11. Poseidon/ Neptune
god of the sea and of earthquakes
12. Pegasus
mythological winged horse
13. Minotaur
mythological beast with body of man and head of a bull
14. Centaur
mythological beast with body of horse and head of a man
15. Sphinx
mythological winged beast with body of lion and head of
woman
16. Cerberus
three headed ferocious dog; guarded the entrance to Hades
17. Polyphemus
most well known Cyclops; blinded by Ulysses
18. Helios
God of the sun
19. Hypnos
God of sleep
20. Iris
Goddess of the rainbow
21. Morpheus
God of dreams
22. Nike
Goddess of victory